"Fitbit" fitness tracker

I bought mine in Jan. I have always lost intrest in losing weight after a few weeks. I like it a lot, I always want to run up the numbers (steps, milage and calories) you have a place to write out your food intake, so that helps.

is this related to "fit Fat"?

Does it measure calories burned during exercise, or heartrate,or what? Or does it just say you exercised moderately or vigorously for x minutes or something?\
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Like what would it measure in, say, a Bikram yoga class?

On the web site you put in your weight, height and age, it measures your stride when you walk or run. You get a tacker with a usb cord and plug it in and it will take all your activity and record it for the day. It can''t go in the water, but you can put in the time on the web and it will record it.

R1

I think they''re wireless now. Data uploads when you''re within 15 feet of the docking station.

Anyone else?

How deos it know how many calories you''ve consumed? Or is that part manually entered?

You write down all your food and it adds up cals. sodium, fat, carbs.%0D\
if you check out the forums at fitbit.com you can see what people write about it. If you go to Amazon.com they have some reviews.

The joys of having an aging mind. I thought it said "You can wear the Fitbit Tracker loosely in your pocket, clipped to your pants, shitbra or to your wrist when you are sleeping."\
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I wondered if Melissa Gilbert has one.

Clearly over two years behind the times, I just got one of these today.
As I'm just figuring it out, I thought I'd ask how others have liked it. I'm sure more people have tried these since the thread started.
I have a fitbit zip, FWIW.

I used mine for about 9 months, then took it off and stopped using it. I work full time, so it was very predictable during the week what my fitness level would be. Always around 7000 steps, and 12-14 stairs. It didn't reflect the pilates I do 3 times a week. I only found it fun when I would get close to 10,000 steps during the week, and I would find myself marching around the house to knock out the last few hundred steps. It's very good for an initial assessment, I thought for sure I was getting closer to 10,000 steps a day before I started wearing it.
And for sleep patterns...meh. I'm an insomniac, and part of trying to fall asleep is staying still, so the fitbit thought I slept a lot more than I really did.

Fit%20Frau

I love my fitbit! My sister and I share our weekly stats via email. Been using it for over two years now.

Thanks, R11.
One of my other concerns is that all my fitness/activity information is going out to "the cloud". That could create quite a database, of exercise, eating habits, sleeping habits, moods, and level of activity at work. Depending what you input.
I can see employers wanting access to that information, so they can weed out poor health risks/inactive people to keep their company's health costs down.
Is the fitbit the equivelent to employers of that gadget you put on your car to monitor your driving, to see if you're eligible for cheaper insurance rates? The better your fitbit, the liklier you can get the job?

To take your thought a step further, r13, what is keeping police from using vehicles' on board computers to write citations? Is that going to happen one day? All of this cloud shit disturbs me.

Good point, R14. They already use cameras on traffic lights which have proven to be mechanically and situationally unreliable, and force people to pay traffic fines based on blurred photos - and you are not allowed to dispute it in a court of law...

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[quote]I can see employers wanting access to that information, so they can weed out poor health risks/inactive people to keep their company's health costs down.
I tried to tell my co-workers this when the very large, very well known international company I worked for started giving insurance "discounts" to people who voluntarily logged their exercise habits.
None of them believe me but the time is fast approaching when every single facet of your life will be monitored by the insurance companies and the people you work for. ANY "transgression" away from "company policy" will result in termination.

Welcome%20to%20the%20Brave%20New%20World%2C%20bitches.

Sorry to revive this older thread but just got one of these for my birthday and it's pretty damn cool. I knew I ran around allot during the day but with just half the day over I'm already at almost 10,000 steps. Anybody else still using one of these? Do you belong to the Fitzip community on line?

Eddy

where is the fitzip board?
Got one for my partner's bday and he is using it. He works from home and needs to rack up an extra 4000 steps a day but he's too busy for the next few weeks to take a 1/2 hour stroll does standing at your desk help?
any other tips/tricks..?

Don't get the bracelet. You'll get tired of wearing it. Get the FitBit One so you can just put it in your small jean pocket and forget about it.

Yeah I've got the little pocket one and you do forget about it. No, don't think standing works but every step you make in or out of doors is counted towards your goal. Just started yesterday but am going to try to beat my distance today.
The fitbitzip community can be found through google search. When you get there set up your profile and make sure you plug the dongle device in to usb port of computer. You can make a profile and type in the food you eat everyday etc. I guess it's not for everyone but I've found it's an incentive to stay active and eat healthier.

Eddy

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has officially announced a recall of the Fitbit Force because of thousands of complaints of itchy rashes and burns on users’ wrists while wearing the wireless wristband activity tracker.
The recall announced Wednesday is for one million units sold in the United States and about 28,000 units sold in Canada.
The CPSC received about 9,900 complaints of the wristband causing skin irritations and about 250 reports of blistering.
But Fitbit Force user Kim Reichelt, who started her own database of complaints after she claimed her wrist suffered burn-like rashes, said she has counted many more users with blistering.
“The magnitude of the impact was not even properly described,” said Reichelt in an email to ABC News. ”There are close to 1,000 people who have reported blistering on [Fitbit's] own forum, and that’s based on posts from fewer than 10% of those who have had reactions.”
Another user agreed.
“The numbers look off,” said Nisha Paige of Alexandria, Va., who loved the device until she noticed an itchy rash emerge on her arm, which she initially thought was a spider bite. “[Fitbit says] only 250 people reported blisters but we have seen more reports of that on the forum. I still don’t feel this recall does this issue any justice, but at least it is a legitimate recall.”
The CPSC recall notice attributed the reaction to “the stainless steel casing, materials used in the strap, or adhesives used to assemble the product, resulting in redness, rashes or blistering where the skin has been in contact with the tracker.”
In a statement, Fitbit said that “a thorough analysis by independent labs and medical experts revealed that the reactions reported by a small percentage of Force users were likely the result of allergic contact dermatitis.”
The company added it has been working with medical experts to figure out the cause of the skin issues, just as it pointed out that the surgical grade stainless steel in the device met the most stringent regulatory standards.
George Cobb of Bozeman, Mont., has fears about the device, which he purchased as a gift for his girlfriend.
“The bigger issue is dealing with the unknown. Is this a carcinogen reaction? Will it affect her immune system? I’m sick over this,” he wrote in an email. “A gift that was meant to promote health has turned into a nightmare.”
Sixty-two year old Tandika Star said she wore the Fitbit Force for about 10 days before a burn-like rash emerged.
“I’m horrified by the way this problem has been handled by Fitbit, Inc.,” she said. “They have not released any information about what chemical[s] we have been infected with and if these will cause breast cancer, birth defects, or long term debilitation.”
The maker of what’s been called the most popular fitness tracker on the market had previously issued a voluntary recall of the $129 Fitbit Force device on Feb. 21, offering refunds to customers who wanted one. The company also stopped selling the device. But many users did not hear about that recall because it did not go through official government channels, like Wednesday’s recall, which now makes it illegal to sell or resell the Force device.
“I am appalled that Fitbit has not notified all owners of the device while hundreds more continue to get hurt,” said Alexandra Schweitzer, who said her rash took weeks to clear up.
A spokesperson from CPSC said the agency “expects Fitbit to use their social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to inform consumers about the recall of the Fitbit Force. In addition, Fitbit should use their customer contact information to directly notify affected consumers about this important recall.”
A visit to Fitbit’s homepage revealed no information about the recall, but after clicking on the “Products” tab and selecting “Force Wireless Activity and Wristband,” a pop-up revealed details of the recall along with a request to sign up for more information on “our next generation tracker.”